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6/28/2008
I recently arrived in Texas to visit family, but since I’ve gotten here I’ve been getting emails about how great Mike Slaughter’s Missional Church class was. I encouraged students to take this, and I’m glad that I did. The most extensive comments have come from Jenny Smith, who has blogged about the course during this one-week class. Check out her blog at http://www.journey4610.blogspot.com/. 6/20/2008
Yes, the great Steven Colbert interviews the great N. T. Wright about heaven and God's new creation. Good stuff. Check out the video.
6/19/2008
I recently ran across a website that I built years ago on Canonical Theism. It was when we were first getting the project off the ground. Billy Abraham had put together a number of theses on CT, and I published them on the web. Apparently SMU has graciously allowed them to stay up all this time, though I had completely forgotten about it. If you’re interested in learning more about CT (and haven’t bought the book yet), check out http://people.smu.edu/canonicaltheism/CTTheses.htm. 6/12/2008
I just returned from my first annual conference at Lakeside, Ohio. Having transferred up from the North Texas Conference, the West Ohio Conference seemed…unusual. It was a very nice environment for the conference, but I’m just not used to seeing pastors at annual conference wearing flip flops and shorts.
Lakeside is a gated community, a Chautauqua, right on the shores of Lake Erie. It is a beautiful place, and going there is kind of like taking a step back in time. The conference session are held in a very large auditorium that looks like something out of “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Pastors bring there families. Kids eat ice cream and go fishing. In the evening people gather by the pier and watch the sunset. People walk the streets, even after dark, running into old friends and talking about the day’s events.
Apparently there is a longstanding debate over whether or not the conference should keep meeting at Lakeside. On the one hand, some people see it as backward-looking, “taking a bath in nostalgia,” as it was once put to me. On the other hand, how many annual conferences have the community and family-oriented atmosphere that one finds at Lakeside? Annual conference was actually enjoyable this year. When I attended sessions of the North Texas Conference, we usually held it at the Plano Center, just north of Dallas. It was more businesslike, and I’m sure that attendance at the sessions was higher than in West Ohio. But I think that there is something to be said for the idea that “holy conferencing” is not just about business. Yes, we have to get our work done, but I think that bringing people together in a place where they can really enter into community with one another is a great idea.
I’ve always found a very collegial and often warm atmosphere among pastors in the West Ohio Conference. Maybe our meeting at Lakeside has something to do with that. 5/28/2008
Remember all of the hubbub about the Gospel of Judas a couple of years ago? Well, guess what: the hubbub hasn’t gone away. But now it’s not the early church that’s under fire, but the scholars who were involved with the initial publication of the gospel. It seems that there were “serious errors” in the translation of the text published by the National Geographic Society, as well as pressure to present the gospel in such a way as to create publicity and controversy. (Surprising? Not really.) A fascinating article in the Chronicle Review explains the events surrounding the recent stir: http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i38/38b00601.htm. 5/17/2008
Wow. It has really been a long time. That’s because a lot has been going on in the life of UTS. We’re wrapping up the spring semester, preparing for commencement, instituting a new 78-hour M.Div. curriculum, and sending representatives to annual conferences, among other things. Its’ a busy time but a good one.
I just made the trip to the Detroit Annual Conference to visit with UTS alums. They are a friendly bunch. It was good to get to meet them. It’s always good to hear about encouraging things that are happening in churches and conferences around the country.
Next week is dedicated to writing.... although I've been saying that for a number of consecutive weeks. 4/25/2008
My thanks to Missy and Rodney for their comments on “Calling Young Clergy” (see below). These are very good points. Ordination and itinerancy go hand in hand in the UMC, and both can be difficult to navigate. I guess part of the issue is the extent to which we are truly committed to inviting talented and faithful individuals into positions of church leadership. If this is our commitment, then we will make the necessary changes within the denominational structure.
Talented and called people will find a place to lead. God will raise up leaders. If the UMC doesn’t want them or will not make room for them, they will go elsewhere. The UMC is capable of so much. I hope that we will make wise decisions as a denomination in coming years. 4/24/2008
Movie director Paul Verhoeven has a new book on the life of Jesus coming out. In this book, he claims that Jesus is the son of a Roman soldier who raped Mary.
Wow… and to think I’ve had it wrong all these years…. After all, how can one dispute the scholarly prowess of the man who brought us “Robocop” and “Basic Instinct”?
Actually, this claim has been around for a very long time. It was part of a Jewish polemic against Christians from early on. In the modern era, Morton Smith made similar claims in his book Jesus the Magician. Smith was a knowledgeable scholar, to say the least, but Jesus the Magician is a poor excuse for scholarship because the conclusions of the work extend well beyond what is reasonably warranted by the evidence. Oh yes… and he probably forged the Secret Gospel of Mark, an impressive feat, but one that does not exactly enhance his believability as a scholar.
Verhoeven’s book, however, will surely sell many more copies than Smith’s ever did, since he is already a celebrity. Plus, the book will be heavily promoted by the publisher.
Oddly, Verhoeven is a member of the Jesus Seminar. It is not odd because of the claims that he is advancing. Such outrageous claims are pretty boiler-plate stuff for the Jesus Seminar. It’s odd because, despite the sensationalistic nature of the organization, the Jesus Seminar has always promoted itself as a scholarly group. For example, they put out a “Scholar’s Version” of the canonical and non-canonical gospels.
Notice to Jesus Seminar members: Verhoeven’s involvement does not reflect well upon your organization. At least up to this point, the people who have been out front making outrageous claims have been legitimate scholars. Now your most well known member will be the man who directed “Showgirls.”
You can see the CNN report on Verhoeven’s book at http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/04/24/verhoeven.jesus.ap/index.html. 4/22/2008
Wow… it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. That’s because I have been trying to write while in the midst of dealing with no small amount of administrivia. I am tired of the administrivia, so I’m not going to comment on that (not to mention the fact that it would be extremely boring for you, gentle reader).
As far as the writing goes, I’ve been working on my contribution to the Fortress Press New Proclamation series. This is a lectionary commentary series, each volume of which has four authors. I have nine lectionary lessons on which to write.
Writing a lectionary commentary is a bit more challenging than I thought it would be because I am writing on various parts of the canon, from Numbers to Esther to Psalms to
Mark to James. Each work has a different context, different concerns, and different literary features. So it’s a bit harder than it normally is to get into a rhythm in the writing of the commentary.
That having been said, it’s an enjoyable project for the same reasons. Biblical scholarship is so specialized that one rarely has the opportunity to branch out into different parts of the canon. I don’t often have the opportunity to write about Esther, for example, even thought it is a fascinating text.
For the same reasons, the lectionary can be a useful resource for pastors. Not only does it provide variety in terms of the material on which the pastors preaches, but it also increases the pastor’s biblical literacy, drawing him or her into parts of the canon that might otherwise be neglected.
If you’re every wondering what the lectionary text for a particular week might be, check out www.textweek.com. It’s a good resource. |
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